Love and War
by Jyuoa
Summary: During a mission to an unexplored planet, tensions rise among the group. When a species threatens to end their worlds existance, they must team up with many alien allies. Set some time after Alien Swarm. Ben-Elena-Julie love triangle,implied Gwevin.
1. Prologue: A New Assignment

The group was in the Plumbers Base. It was empty and the trio had been sitting around for a couple hours. "Why are we even here?" Kevin asked, sounding almost half-asleep.

"It's not like Grandpa Max to be late." Ben said. Gwen was reading a book.

"I'm sure he'll be here any minute."

"That's what you said two hours ago, Gwen." Kevin said, allowing himself to drift off. She stared at him, really annoyed.

"Okay, enough guys." Ben said. They'd been acting like this ever since the thing with the alien chips went down. At that moment, the door opened.

"Sorry I'm late."

"Hey, it's okay. Sometimes we all break the rules." Ben said.

"Well, almost all of us." Gwen said. Kevin got up.

"So, what's up?" Ben asked.

"Something's come up on a distant planet." Max told them. "No one can seem to figure out what, but rumor has it that there's a race of rogue aliens planning something."

"Let me guess, you want us to go check it out." Kevin said.

"Well, normally I'd go, but I've got to help train some of the new recruits."

"No sweat, we can handle it." Ben told him. As the group started to leave, Max stopped them.

"Hang on, there's something else you should know." The trio turned around. "Nobody else has ever been to this planet before, so you might want to bring some back-up."

"No problem." Ben said.

Meanwhile, in another office, Victor Validis was checking his watch. Suddenly, the door burst open. "I'm so sorry, Dad!"

"Elena, you're late." Victor had been reinstated after the attack and Elena had now become a part of the organization as well.

"So, what's the emergency?" Elena asked.

"Well, Max and I discovered something and after talking it over, we decided that Ben and his team should check it out." He told her.

"And you're telling me this because…"

"I want you to go with them." Victor said. "They could run into a lot of trouble since this planet's never been explored before."

"So you're assigning me to go with them?" Elena asked. "Wait, how will we get off planet?"

"I think one of Ben's friends can help with that." He told her. "Good luck."

Just outside the base, the trio was headed for the car. "Hey, guys!" The group turned and saw Elena running toward them.

"Elena? What are you doing here?" Ben asked.

"Uh, I work here, too. Did you forget?" Elena pointed out. "My father assigned me to go on this assignment with you guys."

"Are you kidding me?" Gwen asked.

"Anyway, we have to get to Julie's house." Ben said.

"Julie?" Elena asked.

"Ben's girlfriend." Kevin said.

"How come I've never heard of her?" Elena asked.

"It never came up and you never asked." Ben pointed out. "Come on, let's go." The group got into the car and drove off.


	2. The Ride

On the way to the planet, everyone was strangely quiet. Even Julie had nothing to say. At first, Gwen was unsure about her coming along, but since she had more control over Ship than the rest of them, the group agreed to let her come. Elena was sitting next to her, looking a little uncomfortable. Finally, Ben broke the silence. "So, how's tennis going?"

"Pretty well." Julie said. "My next match is coming up in a couple weeks."

Elena was looking at her. She couldn't believe Ben hadn't told her about Julie, then again she never asked. But she didn't want to let him know she was crushing on him.

"Elena?" She looked up. "You okay? You seemed out of it for a second."

"Yeah, it happens sometimes." Elena said. "So, how'd you learn how to train this…uh…" She had forgotten the names of some of the species over the years the team thought she'd been M.I.A.

"Well, that's an interesting story." Julie said. "I was on my first date with Ben when we ran across Ship here."

"I see." Elena said.

"He can be a handful sometimes, but he mostly listens to Julie." Kevin said. "And it gives Ben an excuse to…ow!" Gwen elbowed him in the side.

"Hey, try not to beat each other up before we get there." Ben said.

"Sorry." Gwen said. She turned to the girls. "Go on, no one's listening this time."

"Are they always like this?" Elena asked.

"After a while you get used to it." Julie said. "The first time I went on a mission with them, it was pretty hectic compared to now."

"Same here, I guess." Elena said. "Of course I've only been on one official mission with these guys."

"Yeah, and the rate you and Gwen were arguing…" Ben started.

"You and Kevin argue all the time." Gwen pointed out.

"Okay, we get the idea!" Elena said, equally embarrassed. Julie began laughing.

"_Ship!_" Suddenly, the group was thrown forward. Everyone positioned themselves back upward.

"We're approaching the planet." Ben said as it came into view. "Remember, not many people have explored this place before so no matter what happens, we all stick together." Everyone nodded, but Elena was a little unsure.

"Ship, fly lower." Julie said. As Ship descended, the more uncomfortable Elena was feeling.


	3. Tensions Rising

The group landed on the planet after what felt like a couple hours. As soon as everyone got out, Ship changed back to regular size. "Ship!" Julie picked him up.

"Just stay with me, Ship." She told him. "No running away."

"Ship!" He got into her pocket.

"Glad to see he's listening this time." Kevin said.

"Okay, enough." Gwen said. "We're here on a mission."

"This place is huge." Ben said. "There's no way all five of us can cover it."

"Six." Julie corrected, pointing out Ship.

"I don't think he was counting that…Galvanic Mechamorph." Elena said, finally remembering the name.

"Okay, I was just saying." Julie said. "There's no need for you getting up in my face."

"Hey, knock it off!" Ben said. "We're a team here, so can we solve our group issues later?"

"Fine, but don't expect me to go with her." Gwen said. Although she and Elena had gotten slightly closer, they still had issues.

"Hey, what did I say earlier? Nobody's going off on their own!" Ben said. "All of us are staying together, whether we like it or not. Not many Plumbers have been here before, if they have, I don't know if they made it off this planet alive."

"Yeah, that makes me feel comfortable." Kevin said, sarcastically. At the same time, he was kind of nervous.

"Look, he's right. This'll go a lot faster if we stop fighting and start looking around." Gwen said. She noticed a strange-looking rock on the ground. She picked it up. "That's weird, there's a strange energy signature coming from it."

"I wouldn't be surprised after the last adventure we had." Elena said. Gwen closed her eyes and got a reading.

"There seems to be a group of aliens hiding in that direction." She pointed.

"Okay, then let's go." Ben said.

"Hold it, we can't just go in there." Julie said. "We know nothing about the race or races that live here. We should try not to get spotted."

"She's right, it could be really dangerous." Elena said.

"Hard to believe this is coming from the girl who risked everything to try and save her father." Kevin said.

"I did what I had to do." Elena protested.

"Okay, I think I have an idea." Ben said. "Wherever these guys are, let's try to stay hidden."

The group followed Gwen as they walked through a desert like landscape. "So, what were you guys up to while I was away?" Elena asked.

"We'll tell you later." Ben said. "It's best if we stay quiet, it'll give us the element of surprise."

"Right." Elena said, feeling stupid for saying anything.

"Hey, we all make mistakes, Elena." Gwen told her. "It's no big deal." It had gotten dark out, so she used a small energy orb for light.

Julie suddenly stopped at the back of the group. "What's wrong?" Ben asked.

"I don't know, something's shaking." Julie said. Then it hit her. "Or someone. Give me a minute?" She ran behind a huge rock nearby. The rest of the group looked at each other, completely stumped.

"What's with your girlfriend?" Elena asked. Ben shrugged. A second later, Julie returned to the group, carrying Ship in her arms.

"It was Ship, the poor little guy's been shaking in fear." Julie said.

"Is he okay?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, I've calmed him down." Julie said. She looked to Ship. "Don't worry, nothing's going to hurt you while we're around."

"You're really great with him." Ben said. Elena was watching, and was feeling a little jealous.

"Anyway, shouldn't we be investigating this place?" She asked.

"Yeah, guys, my mana orb isn't going to last all night." Gwen pointed out.

"Right, let's go." Ben said. All of them walked by the entrance of a cave.

"They're inside." Gwen confirmed. They looked inside, but there was nobody in there. "They _were_ inside. They must've changed location."

"I think we just found them." Ben said, pointing to a group of aliens over in a valley. It was too far to tell what species they were.

"How are we going to get close without getting spotted?" Kevin asked.

"Leave it to me." Ben said.

"Okay, so this is our plan." One of the aliens was speaking. "We're going to take over this planet and make the inhabitants here feel the wrath after what they've done to us."


	4. Conspiracy

The group was finally close enough to hear them speaking. "I wonder what they did to them that was so bad they'd start a war over it." Kevin whispered.

"Coming from the guy who was stuck inside the Null Void for…" Ben started.

Gwen cleared her throat. "Guys." She whispered.

"Sorry."

"You certainly have a way with them." Elena whispered.

"Thanks, I think."

"Anyway, it looks like we're going to find out why." Ben whispered. Everyone turned to the group.

"Ship!"

"Ship, quiet." Julie said. The group remained silent so they could hear the other race or races speaking.

"We'll make them suffer for what they've done. Trapping us here, keeping us prisoner. No race on this world will be left except for us." The apparent leader said.

"Excuse me, sir, if I may." A voice spoke up. "Why start a war over this? Most races came to this planet to find peace away from their homeworlds."

"These people have kept us away, never gave us a fair chance."

"Well, to be fair, we are one of the more primative and feared races, but they just can't seem to see past that. If we start a war, no race will trust our kind at all." Another voice said.

"But they kept us locked up here for no reason. It's either us or them." The leader said.

"This has gotten way out of hand." Ben said. "Come on, we better get over there."

"I wouldn't…" Elena began, then she hesitated. She knew it'd be pointless to stop Ben. They all headed over to the group, however, it seemed like they were unaware they were even around.

"That's weird, it's like they can't even see us." Ben said.

"Who are you?" Everyone turned around. The leader of the group had spotted them and it caught the attention of everyone else, too. For a second, everyone was so surprised that they couldn't say anything.

Gwen stepped up. "It's okay, we're just taking a look around this planet. We don't want to cause any trouble."

"I see, I have never seen your kind here before." The leader said.

"Well, to be fair, we didn't even know about this place." Julie told him. "We came here to…uh…"

"Gather research on the planet's natural resources." Elena finished. Everyone stared at her like she was crazy. Even she knew it was stupid, but it was all she could come up with.

"Next time leave the excuses to us." Kevin whispered.

"It's for an environment studies program." Gwen explained.

"Do as you must, but if our paths ever cross again, you'll regret it." The leader said.

"Don't…" One of the voices said.

"Okay, what's going on? Why are you so mad at this planet's inhabitants?" Elena asked.

"Look, take this from somebody with experience." Kevin spoke up. "Fighting out of anger gets you nowhere, it just causes problems."

"The only problem is the inhabitants of this world. They, along with your race, will be extinguished from the universe." The leader said, and got ready to strike Kevin. Luckily, Gwen put up a mana shield in time to save him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Ben said. The others were getting up to attack as well.

"There's too many, we're outnumbered!" Elena said.

"Tell us something we don't know." Kevin said, hitting the ground. He absorbed the rock and got ready. Ben was going through the forms on the Omnitrix and pressed the button down.

"Swampfire!" He shot a fire blast into the crowd.

"Ship!" Julie called. He formed into a battlesuit around her. She followed Ben's lead and aimed a blast into the crowd as well.

Elena couldn't find a weapon, so she just settled for knocking them out. As soon as the opponents ran off, she turned to Julie. Ship had returned to normal size. "Guess I was wrong about you." She said. "You're a freak, just like them."

"Excuse me?" Julie asked.

"You heard me."

"Hey, guys! Cut it out!" Ben said, getting in between them. The leader was getting up.

"Look out!" Something grabbed them and pulled them away. When Ben woke up, he looked around.

"Whoa, where are we?" He asked, noticing the change of location. They were now in an area covered in ice. The others got up, all feeling just as confused as he did.


	5. A Cold Surprise

Everyone looked totally lost in the new ice territory. "How did we get here?" Elena asked.

"I remember something grabbing us." Ben said.

"So, whatever grabbed us, saved us." Julie said.

"Yeah, but the cold climate doesn't help." Kevin said.

"I know someone who can help with that." Julie said, looking at Ship. Within minutes, the group was inside the spaceship.

"We better call Grandpa Max, let him know what's happening." Ben got up. After explaining what went down, he waited for a response.

"I was afraid of that." Grandpa Max said. "In a few days, we'll be sending a support team to the planet to help."

"Thanks, we'll keep checking things out, see if there's anyone who can explain everything. See you soon, Grandpa." Ben told him. He turned to the others.

"Whoever got us out of there must've been fast." Julie said, stepping out.

"And strong." Gwen pointed out, joining her. "They had to grab all five of us, and Kevin's not exactly the lightest member of the group."

"Thanks, I'll remember that next time we're in a fight." Kevin said.

"You guys have such issues." Elena told them.

"Please, in a few hours we'll find them kissing in the back of the spaceship." Ben said. Gwen and Kevin both blushed at that.

They all stepped back out and Ship returned to normal size. "Maybe it was more than one person or whatever that saved us." Ben said.

"What makes you say that?" Julie asked.

"There's no way one thing could've flown or dragged all five of us out here." Suddenly, he felt a cold hand on his shoulder.

"It's good to see that you're safe." A voice said. He turned and jumped back in surprise.

"You okay, Ben?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah, just a little jumpy." Ben said. Everyone turned to the figure. "You're…" The person was in a blue cloak with sleeves and what appeared to be a skirt on the bottom half of the outfit.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." She said.

"It's okay, I was just startled." Ben said. "After what we've been through, it's no wonder I'm jumpy."

"It is so frightening to know what we have here may soon be gone." The girl agreed.

"You're so far from home." Gwen said, knowing her race.

"My family moved here centuries ago. This is a home to me and many others." The girl said, gesturing to the icy landscape. Soon they got a better look over a hill, and saw many small Necrofriggians flying around the area.

"Whoa, are they all…" Ben began.

"No, they're my friends and some are my siblings." The Necrofriggian girl said. "By the way, I'm Anyu."

"Were you the one who saved us last night?" Ben asked.

"No, I was called upon to help you." Anyu told them. "The one who watches over this planet and it's inhabitants is rarely seen by others. However, I'm not sure she even knows of the crisis that becomes of us."

"Some leader she is." Kevin said.

"Oh, no. She's actually very kind. She's the one who brought you here."

"Do you know where she lives?" Ben asked. Everyone stared at him.

"You're not thinking of seeing her, are you?"

"Someone has to warn her about the war that's going to begin." Ben pointed out. "If not you, why not us?"

"It seems you aren't going to give up until you accomplish your task." Anyu realized. "Very well. She lives deep in a secret cave. I was surprised when I first saw her. She's very unique amongst her own race."

"It seems we'll be running into a lot of familiar species that we know of." Julie said.

"How do we know we can trust any of them?" Elena asked.

"Please, you should consider yourself lucky that we trust you." Kevin said.

"Hey, I was assigned just like the rest of you. Julie here just invited herself."

"That's not true, Julie's the only one of us that has full control over Ship." Ben said. "She's why we're here right now, without her, our mission would've been a failure."

Elena let out an angry yell and stormed into the ship. "I hope she's okay." Gwen said, feeling a little sorry for her.

"She just needs to be on her own for a bit." Kevin said.

"I'll talk to her when the time's right." Julie said. Everyone headed back inside. Ben turned.

"Thanks for helping, Anyu."

"Good luck, Ben." She said as their craft took off.


	6. Finding the Secret Cave

The group was headed back to the desert landscape. The way there was uncomfortably quiet. Nobody said a word as the ship landed in near a canyon. "Look, sorry about what happened back there." Ben said. Elena looked at him.

"You don't have to apologize, I'm just here to follow my father's orders." Elena said. Ben leaned back in his seat, knowing that keeping the team together would be no walk in the park.

The others turned to look at Elena, but she was in no mood for discussion. She didn't want their sympathy right now. When they landed, their stop was a little abrupt. "Everyone hang on tight!" Julie called back. They all grabbed onto something as they came in for a landing.

Once they had landed, they all walked out one-by-one. "What happened?" Ben asked. Once everyone was out, Ship changed back to his regular size.

"Are you okay, Ship?" Julie asked, checking to see if he was injured.

"Ship!"

"Okay, so what are we doing back here?" Kevin asked.

"We have to find the person who watches this place. She needs to know about what's happening." Ben said.

"But this place is huge. We don't even know what cave she's in." Gwen pointed out.

"Look, it's the only lead we have." Ben said.

"Guys, are we seriously doing this again?" Elena asked, recalling her last adventure with them.

"Look, arguing isn't going to get us anywhere." Julie said. "We've gotta start somewhere."

"Ship!" Everyone turned around seeing the little symboite near a puddle.

"Ship!" Julie picked him up, wondering how he managed to get away from them in the time she'd put him on the ground.

"What is that?"

"It's not like any puddle I've seen before." Elena said. She was right, the puddle was a strange color and had bubbles popping out of it.

"I don't even want to know, let's get back to finding the cave." Ben said.

"Wow, you are such a girl sometimes." Gwen said.

"Well, he did…" Kevin began.

"Guys, not now!" Julie said. "I'm tired of hearing this story and I'm pretty sure Elena doesn't want to hear it."

"Thanks, Julie." Elena said, a little confused and relieved at the same time. Not knowing what the group was talking about drove her nuts sometimes.

The group looked around. Julie noticed that Elena was distancing herself from the others.

"Hey, guys." Julie said, trying to come up with a plan. "Wouldn't it go a lot faster if we split up?"

"With this war to annihilate any species that lives here? It's best if we don't." Ben said. "Besides, we have to try and stop these guys. If we don't, then who knows what else they might try to do?" Julie glanced over at Elena again. She looked so lonely.

She walked over to her. "What are you doing?" Elena turned, surprised.

"Taking a sample of that puddle. You never know what's hiding around here, you know." She held out a slide with the residue and slid it back into her pocket.

"Yeah." Julie said, wondering how she got them out of the base.

"Over here!" Everyone rushed over to where Gwen was. "This is it. This is the cave we were at yesterday."

"Nice job, Gwen." Ben said. "Now all we need to do is go in and…"

"I wouldn't do that just yet." Gwen said. "I sense something in there, but I can't tell what it is."

"So whatever it is, we'll just kick it's butt." Kevin pointed out. Gwen hit him on the shoulder.

"Ready, guys?" Ben asked. Everyone nodded. They all walked inside. Gwen used her energy for a light source. They didn't too deep into the cave, though.

"So, are you okay, Elena?" Julie asked. "It just seems like you're alone."

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Elena said.

Gwen suddenly stopped, startled by something. Her light went out and she nearly tripped. "Gwen, are you okay?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah, just a bit on edge." Gwen said.

"It's going to be okay." Ben said, trying to calm her down. "We're all here."

"Who dares enter the mistress' cave?" A voice asked. Everyone froze. Ship ran and hid behind Julie.

"Ship, it's okay." Julie said, trying to hide her own fear.

"Who are you? Where are you?" Ben asked. It was a little dark, but still very hard to see.

"I am the mistress' personal guardian. No one enters this cave." Suddenly, Ben could see what looked like a light for a second. Then he realized it was a beam.

"Everyone, duck and run!" They all ran out of the cave as the beam fired and luckily, no one was hit. "Is everyone okay?" Ben asked as they all got up.

"Yeah, but that thing's not going to be." Kevin said.

"You must leave immediately." The voice said.

"Look, we don't mean any harm." Ben said. "We just want to talk to her."

"The only way to get to her is through me." The voice said.

"Why don't you come out here and show yourself?" Kevin asked, absorbing the rock he was standing near. The figure stepped out of the cave and they could see it clearly.

"No wonder that beam looked so familiar." Ben said.

"In order to see her, you have to defeat me in battle." The Crystalsapien said. **(For those of you who don't know, that's Chromastone's race.)**

"Looks like we have no choice." Ben said.


	7. Chromastone's Challenge

"So in order to see her, we need to take this guy down." Kevin said.

"No, not exactly." The Crystalsapien said. "This will be a one-on-one battle."

"Can you give us a minute?" Ben asked. The group huddled together. "Okay, now this I wasn't expecting."

"There's no way I'm going near that walking rock." Elena said. "No offense." She added, remembering Kevin's powers.

"None taken." Kevin said.

"Well, since Elena and I don't have any powers, it'd be safer if we sat this one out." Julie said.

"Okay, so then it's one of us." Ben said. Elena turned to Julie, a little surprised.

"He'll absorb anything that I throw at him." Gwen pointed out.

"Not to mention reflect it back at twice the power." Kevin added.

"Okay, I guess I'll go." Ben said.

"How are you going to defeat him?" Julie asked. "I don't think any of your aliens can match up against him."

"I have to at least try." Ben pointed out. "We don't really have much choice here." The group stepped out.

"Good luck." Julie said. She turned to Elena. "I think we should talk. Come on." The two girls went off unnoticed while Gwen and Kevin stayed to support Ben.

"So, I take it you'll be the one fighting for your team?" The Crystalsapien asked.

"That's right." Ben said.

"Ready when you are."

"Bring it on!" Ben said. He scrolled through the Omnitrix, selected the form he wanted, and pressed down on it.

"Swampfire!" The Crystalsapien was surprised for a moment. Then he fired a beam at him. He jumped out of the way.

In the spaceship, Julie walked over to Elena. "What's up with you? You've been distancing yourself from the rest of the team, not helping out during the fights, are you really part of the team here?"

"Look, you don't know anything about me." Elena said. "I'm not like the rest of the Plumbers. I don't have any powers."

"Not all of the Plumbers have powers." Julie pointed out. "Ben told me about how a group of them helped protect Bellwood several years back. And I'm like them." Elena looked up. "I don't have any powers. Ship just becomes my battle suit when I need to fight."

"So, how come I never see you around the base?" Elena asked.

"Well, I'm still in training." Julie told her. "Most of the time, I'm either training with a group of Plumbers' kids or helping Ben with a mission."

"He's really lucky to have someone like you around." Elena said.

"Do you like him?"

"Well, he's okay. He did help save my father once." Elena pointed out. "For a couple weeks, I did have a crush on him, but I'm going through something right now."

"Is something wrong?"

"Well, I've been having problems with my boyfriend since I returned to Bellwood. I don't know if I can keep my cover anymore."

"Look, if he really likes you, he'll understand." Julie said. "On our first date, Ben ended up revealing his secret, but I knew something was up, the way he kept running off. I hope he's okay."

"Please, he might be a lot of things, but I know he can handle himself well in battle." Elena said.

Back at the battle, Swampfire had fallen to the ground. "Ben!" Gwen started to run over to him, but Kevin stopped her.

"Don't! If we interfere, we'll never get in."

"I'm not just going to sit here and watch my cousin get beaten to a pulp!"

"Guys, you know I can hear you, right?" Swampfire pointed out. The Crystalsapien fired another strong beam. He dodged it. "What does it take with this thing?"

"He's using direct sunlight to power up his attacks." Gwen pointed out. "If we hit him in his blind spot, we should be able to stop him."

Swampfire threw a fire ball at him, then ran forward. However, the Crystalsapien managed to fire a direct beam right at him, turning him into a million tiny pieces.

"You were no match for me." The Crystalsapien said. However, he was soon hit from behind and knocked down, hard.

"That's for trying to tear me apart." Swampfire said. He managed to regenerate and get behind him while he looked over the remains. He changed back to normal and the others ran over to him. The girls had returned and they joined up with him, too.

"Nice job, man." Kevin said.

"You okay, Ben?" Julie asked.

"Ship?"

"Yeah, but I'm not doing that again." Ben said. Slowly, the Crystalsapien started to get up. Everyone took on fighting stances.

"You did well." The Crystalsapien said. "Not many have been able to defeat me in battle. I shall now lead you to the mistress myself."

"Thanks, I guess." Ben said. The group followed him back inside.


	8. Aqua Maiden

As the group walked through the cave, they tried to stay close so nobody would get separated. "So, how did you end up here?" Gwen asked.

"I ended up here after a portal opened up on my planet." The Crystalsapien said.

"So, how do you know…" Ben began, then realized they didn't know their leader's name.

"The mistress assigned me guardian of the cave. If anyone were to enter to cause harm, they'd have to answer to me. Are you sure we can trust you?"

"It's okay, we just want to give her information." Elena said.

They were close to the center of the cave now. "We're almost there." The Crystalsapien told them. It was getting even darker in the cave, despite Gwen's light orb.

"Are you sure she's here?" Kevin asked.

"This is where she lives." The Crystalsapien said. "Though, there's not much light to see here."

"Hang on." Gwen said. She increased the size of her light orb. Everything was clearly visible now. There was a lake in front of them.

"There's a lake in the center of this cave?" Julie asked.

"Considering everything we've been through, it doesn't surprise me." Elena said.

There was a shadow below the surface. The Crystalsapien stepped forward. "Milady, there are some visitors here to see you."

"I know." A calm voice said. "Thanks, Chris."

"You're name is Chris?" Ben asked.

"It's her nickname for me." The Crystalsapien protested.

"So, what news do you bring?" The voice said.

"Uh, it would kind of help if we could see you."

"Oh, right. I forget sometimes." Bubbles rose up from the surface. For a second, there was fog. The group turned back to the lake to see a female Aerophibian **(again, for those who don't know, that's Jetray's species) **in the center of it. Unlike Jetray, her body looked like a normal girls' except for the manta wings and stinger.

"Are you the one that watches over this planet?" Ben asked.

"Yes. My name is Ariel." She told them.

"First off, I want to say thanks for saving us."

"It was nothing. I've heard many things about you, Ben Tennyson, but clueless isn't one of them." Ariel said.

"How did you know…"

"I'm the guardian of this planet, I know things." Ariel told him.

"Look, there's this rouge group of aliens that are planning to destroy all life on this planet." Ben said.

"I know, and it's my fault." Ariel said. "I came to this planet because I am not like the rest of my people. They were always picking fights with each other, so I fled here to get away from it. Not all Aerophibians are like that, but I was always caught in the middle."

"So, what's with those guys that tried to wipe us out?" Kevin asked.

"They were lead by a dangerous ruler that had come from the Null Void." Ariel explained. "He found a group on a distant planet and took over. Afraid that they might try to take over, I ordered they be sent away. It seems I made huge error."

"Ariel, I understand that you don't like fighting," Elena said. "But if we don't do something, all life on this planet will be wiped out."

"I am such a coward." Ariel agreed. "Even the thought of fighting makes me feel nervous inside."

"I know how you feel." Julie said. "We all do."

"Almost all of us." Gwen pointed out.

"Look, the people of this planet turn to you for help, Ariel." Ben said. "There has to be some way to defeat these guys."

"If your asking me to go into battle, I don't think I can…" Ariel started.

"Look, I don't like fighting either. But if someone close to me or if an innocent life is going to get hurt, I have to step up and help." Ben told her.

"Same goes here." Elena said.

"And here." Julie added.

"That goes double for me." Gwen stepped up. They all turned to Kevin.

"Yeah, same here." He said.

"You may be right." Ariel said. "I'll have to think it over." She went underwater. "Oh, you should probably come up with a plan. We don't want the enemy to see us or we'll really be in trouble."

The group turned to each other, completely lost as to what to do next.


	9. Forming a Plan

The group was in their spaceship, wondering what to do next. "So, what's our plan?" Elena asked.

"We don't have one yet." Julie pointed out. "But we'll come up with something."

"We're talking about an army that threatens the existence of everyone here." Gwen said. "We're not just going to sit back and do nothing."

"The five of us alone could barely fight off a small group of those things." Ben pointed out.

"Six." Julie corrected.

"Ship!"

"Right, sorry." Ben said.

"So what should we do, let them capture us?" Kevin asked.

"No way, they'll totally crush us!" Elena protested.

"There has to be something we can do." Gwen said

"Like what?"

"I think I have an idea." Ben said. "But we're going to need a lot of help."

"I think I know where this is going." Elena said.

"I'll try to find others around the area. Ship has a scanner that can detect other life forms." Julie said.

"Okay, let's get to it, people!" Ben said. Everyone headed to a different part of the ship. Julie and Ben sat up front. Elena headed to the back. Gwen and Kevin headed to the center.

A few minutes later, Elena was looking at the slide under a microscope. "What are you doing?" Gwen asked.

"Looking at the sample of that puddle from earlier." Elena said. "I think I might have found a new ally or group of them."

"You can tell just by looking at it?" Gwen asked.

"Well, I can't be sure if it's alive or not."

"I can help with that." Gwen closed her eyes and tried to pick up a life signal. "You're right, it's definitely alive."

"I picked up on a signal, but it's kind of far." Julie said.

"Well, we're going to need all the help we can get before they attack." Ben pointed out.

In the cave, Ariel resurfaced. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" The Crystalsapien asked.

"There's no choice left." Ariel said. "If I don't, then I'll lose the trust of my people."

"Not all of them." The Crystalsapien pointed out.

"Still, I have a duty to my home here and I won't let it fall." Ariel said.


	10. The Battle Begins

The group was outside, looking over the hill only to find that the rouge army was there. "That can't be good." Ben said.

"Here we go again." Elena said.

"Get used to it, we're always fighting armies that outnumber us a million to three." Gwen pointed out.

"Or five." Julie reminded them.

"Like that makes a difference." Ben said. "We might be outnumbered, but as long as we have each other's backs, we'll always come out on top."

"So, you think we'll actually be able to pull this off?" Elena asked.

"We're talking about the guy who saved the universe from the Highbreed," Gwen said, then she turned to her cousin. "Though there were like fifteen of us fighting altogether."

"Ship!"

"Ship, quiet." Julie whispered.

"Not to mention he wiped save your father and take out that race of alien chips." Kevin pointed out.

"Did you manage to contact that group?" Ben asked.

"I tried, but my connection only lasted a few seconds." Gwen said.

"Then it looks like we're going to have to start out on our own, then." Ben said.

"I can't believe we're doing this." Kevin said.

"We take on stuff like this all the time," Gwen pointed out. "Why is this any different?"

"Elena, are you sure you want to do this?" Julie asked.

"Don't worry about me, I fight well unarmed." Elena said.

"Here, I found this in the back of the ship." Julie said, handing her a pipe.

"Okay, let's go!" Ben said. Everyone followed his lead down the hill.

"There's way too many for us to handle." Gwen realized, seeing how big the army was.

"Then let's even things out." Ben said, setting the dial on the Omnitrix and slamming it down.

"Echo-Echo!" He made hundreds of copies of himself.

"Alright, let's do this!" Elena said. The group ran over.

"You again!" The leader of the rouge army said. "I warned you never to cross our path again. Now you must pay!" The army opened fire on them.

"I'll give us some cover!" The lead Echo-Echo said.

"Better make it fast!" Kevin said, absorbing a rock he was standing near.

"Wall of Sound!" The attack was able to stun them long enough for the others to jump in.

"Ship!" Julie called. Ship rushed over and merged with her to form a battle suit. She opened fire back at the enemy, then switched when to physical attacks when they got too close.

Elena managed to hold them off, but ran into some trouble. Suddenly, a burst of pink energy blasted the enemy in front of her. She turned to see Gwen fighting off a group of them. Kevin was doing well for the most part, until one of the aliens punched him, hard.

Gwen fired at it, but then she got hit with a beam. Julie saw Elena in a bit of a jam, so she ran over to help her. The Echo-Echo army was starting to get weak from fighting.

"Everyone, over here!" The group ran over to Gwen. Julie used her suit to project a green energy field around the entire team. Unlike Gwen's mana shields, this one was unbreakable.

"How long can you hold this up?" Gwen asked.

"As long as it's needed." Julie said. Ben changed back to normal.

"We can't stay in here all day, though." Ben said. "Unless we get some serious back-up, we're done for." Fortunately, their help arrived overhead as a group of what looked like blue jays up in the air floated overhead.


	11. Extended Team

Back-up arrived in just a few seconds. A few enemy guns stopped working. After they tried to figure out the problem, they soon froze over. "You're not the only one with an army!" A familiar voice yelled. The group stared as small group of about twelve Necrofriggians started attacking.

The leader of the group had its wings cut more like a butterfly's. When she saw Ben and his team, she flew over to them. "Nice to see that you're unharmed." She folded her wings in.

"Anyu?" Ben asked.

"We decided that if we're going down with this planet, we're going to at least try and fight to protect what we have left." She told him.

"Good timing, too. We could really use a hand here." Gwen said.

"Come on!" Anyu said. "We can't do this alone." Ben transformed into Big Chill and fought alongside Anyu. The others continued using their regular attacks. Gwen ran into a little trouble when one of them broke through her shield. Luckily, Elena knocked him out.

"Why did you…" Gwen began.

"Please, I might not like you, but you're still part of the team." Elena pointed out. "And repayment for saving me earlier." A second later, Kevin was knocked to the ground. "Looks like he needs you." She went back to fighting while Gwen ran over to check on him.

Julie was doing really well, until she was hit with a powerful beam. Even though she couldn't feel it, it was strong enough to knock her down. Big Chill saw what happened and flew over to the alien that shot her. He froze the weapon and then flew over to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah." From the air, another beam fired into the enemy territory this time. A second blast was fired from behind the group.

They looked and saw Ariel and her partner. "I have a responsibility to help the beings of this planet." She told them.

Underground, a puddle formed and rose up to the surface. About three polymorphs appeared. "Ugh, that's so weird." Elena said.

"You'll get used to it." Gwen told her.

Everyone was busy fighting off the enemy army. Even the polymorphs helped out. Out of nowhere, Goop knocked out five opponents. Elena had run into trouble again, when he ran in and knocked the weapons out of the enemies hands before knocking them out. "Thanks, Ben."

"No problem." He told her. Then, he ended up changing into Jetray and helping Ariel. "I thought you were against fighting."

"I am, but I will do what I must to help my friends here." Ariel pointed out. The two of them attacked from the air. Then, they were joined by Anyu. She opened her wings and shot a massive ice blast at the enemy.

"Whoa, careful! My friends are in the middle of the fight." Jetray reminded her.

"Oh, sorry." Anyu said. "I'll try to be more careful."

Ariel's partner fired stronger beams into the enemy army. Suddenly, he fell to the ground. Ben had changed back to normal and ran over to help him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not used to fighting this much." He explained. "It's taken everything I've got. I don't know if I can continue."

"You can't give up. Ariel needs your help. Everyone here needs your help." Ben told him.

"I've tried, but I'm just too weak to continue. Ben, it's up to you now. I know what happened during that challenge." He fell to the ground.

"Oh, no! You can't give up now." Ben said. He reached out to help him. Suddenly the watch started blinking.

"DNA sample acquired."

Ben stared at the watch for a second. Then he realized it. He went through the forms and pressed down on the watch. "Chromastone!" He got back into the fight.

The fight was beginning to wear everyone out, with exceptions of Anyu, her army, Ariel, and Gwen. Then, Chromastone got in and finished off the remaining enemies with their help. Suddenly, the leader rose up behind him. Just before he could strike, a green beam accompanied by a pink beam knocked him out.

He turned to see Julie and Gwen. "Nobody messes with my boyfriend." Julie said.

"And my cousin." Gwen added. Ben changed back to normal. The entire group looked over the battlefield.

"So, what now?" Ben asked. Then, there was a sound in the distance. Everyone ran in the direction it was coming from to find the source of the sound.


	12. After the War

A group of spaceships landed in the distance. The gang watched as several groups of Plumbers stepped out. One of them was a boy with short, dark hair. "Who is that guy?" Julie asked. The others shrugged, except Elena.

"Tony?" Elena ran over to him.

"Hey, Elena." She hugged him.

"I can't believe this. What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

"You didn't think you were the only Plumbers' kid without powers, did you?" Tony asked. "I came here to see you and to apologize about what happened before you left."

"I understand now." Elena said. "You were trying to keep your cover, just like I was."

"Sorry I was such a jerk, did you manage to save him?" Tony asked.

"Actually," Elena gestured to Ben and his team. "_We_ managed to save him."

A few moments later, Max and Victor stepped out. Ben turned to their alien allies. "Could you give us a few minutes?"

"Sure." Anyu said. The Plumbers got together in the entrance of Ariel's cave.

"…So, that pretty much covers it." Ben said after they finished explaining what happened.

"It seems like you went through quite a lot." Max said.

"Elena, I've heard you've done well in helping out the team." Victor said.

"Well, actually, they helped me." Elena told him. "They helped me realize that I shouldn't be so judge others because I'm not like them."

"Even if you were, you'd probably get annoyed easy." Gwen said. "Our team has a tendency to argue a lot."

"Yeah, but we're still glad you're part of it." Ben told her.

Elena turned to Julie. "Sorry about earlier. I thought you were like them at first, but you're really more like me."

"It's okay, you're not the first one to jump to conclusions." Julie said. "Anyway, without Ship, we wouldn't have even been able to get here."

"Ship! Ship!" They all laughed.

When they stepped out, Gwen turned to Elena. "So what's the deal with you and that guy Tony?"

"He's my boyfriend." Elena said. "I didn't know before, but he was a Plumber's kid, too. Like me, he doesn't have any powers. We got into a fight just before the incident with the chips."

"So that's why you were crushing on Ben." Gwen realized.

"I was so not!" Elena protested. The two of them started arguing.

"There they go again." Kevin said.

"This is so typical." Max said. "Come on, let's try to break it up."

Ben walked over to the others that helped them. "So, what are you planning to do now?"

"Well, now that the war is behind us, I'm going to work hard to restore peace to this planet." Ariel said. "I'll also be visiting my homeworld every now and then, in case my siblings get out of line."

"Now that our planet is free again, we can finally go back to living our lives." Anyu said. "Thank you, Ben Tennyson."

"It was nothing. Besides, without you guys, we wouldn't have been able to free this planet." Ben pointed out. Anyu and her team flew off. Ariel took off afterward in the opposite direction.

"Hey, Ben." Julie said. She had come over while he was watching the others. "I'm just glad to see that you didn't get hurt." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"That's exactly why I know I can always count on my team." Ben said.

"Ship!"

"Hey, Ben, come on!" Elena called to him. "We've got a long ride back home." The group got in the ship and headed for home.


End file.
